Maninder Kalsi, Chinese International School
Devices at home are proliferating. Both those for personal use and those for school use. At CIS we have actively engaged parents in teaching them how to manage device usage of their children in age appropriate ways. We would like to share what we do at CIS to help create a community where parents look to us as partners in helping children learn how to manage device usage.

We will share everything we do with our parents, and our staff, in helping students learn how to manage devices to encourage Digitally Enhanced Learning, and not Digitally Hindered Learning. Participants will be given an opportunity to share what they do, what they might want to do, and we will try and advise based on our 7 years of doing this within our community.

Maninder Kalsi is the ICT Secondary Facilitator at Chinese International School. He works with parents, students and staff to help integrate technology into the home and classroom so that learning is enhanced and not hindered. He, along with his colleague, work closely with staff to help children use devices smartly and to raise awareness of issues of Netiquette, Mental Health, Cyberbullying, Multi-tasking Issues, Sexting, Online addictions of gaming, explicit material and social media, information literacy, digital compass, digital citizenship and implementation of devices for effective learning.

Participants will learn how to set-up and maintain low cost Sensory Corners within the current school setting. They will be engaged in a dialogue about the importance of sensory ‘breaks’ for all learners. They will also be able to appreciate the resources at hand in establishing a nurturing learning environment. The participants will have an opportunity to reflect on their current learning spaces and gain ideas for adding sensory elements to their learning environments upon returning to their schools.

Inna Polianska and Jennifer LeVarge are passionate educators and leaders who ground their practice in the PYP, Reggio Emilia and Montessori approach to learning. Inna works as the Student Support Services Coordinator at her current school, where she supports students, parents and teachers to ensure that every child is challenged in a safe and exciting way. Inna is a mom to a curious toddler and a passionate traveler and tweeter (@polianska). Jennifer acts as the Elementary School Principal and PYPC at an international school in Beijing, where she is inspired by the pedagogy of listening, learning environments and photography. She enjoys a strong coffee, tweeting (@VargeLe), pondering life and chasing after her four-year-old daughter.

Participants will understand how a Squishy Circuit works.
Participants will know how to apply the Harvard thinking routine in future lessons.
Participants will be able to connect Squishy Circuits with Art.
This is a practical workshop. Participants will have a hands on experience and will be able to explore “squishy circuits” in a fun way.
Participants will use a Harvard thinking routine to explore Squishy Circuits.
Participants will be shown some examples of how Squishy Circuits were used in a Year 3/ Grade 2 classroom to enhance scientific thinking.
Participants will be shown the next steps of how Squishy Circuits can be taken further and connect with making.

May Li studied Educational Technology in both Bachelor and Master program, and graduated from the University of Hong Kong in 2013 and currently works at Renaissance College Hong Kong. She is excited to see how technology empowers students’ creativity, collaboration, communication and critical thinking, and devotes herself to helping teachers and students to enhance their teaching and learning with technology.
Leigh Thomas has been a Primary School teacher for 15 years. She is passionate about integrating technology into the classroom. Leigh is also excited about integrating technology with Makers Education and has seen first hand how this creates a community of makers who are problem solvers, critical thinkers, communicators and collaborators.

Teachers are doing amazing work with their students everyday, yet we don’t always see it. By bring these powerful learning experiences to light, teachers can engage in meaningful collaborative dialogue to promote professional growth. Learn the process of curating and celebrating through the use of Discovery Cards in a digital format and explore the possibilities for your organization.

“Gain an understanding of a professional development process using Discovery Cards as catalysts for professional conversations
Reflect on opportunities for the use of the Discovery Card Coaching cycle for your organization.
Gain inspiration from the powerful learning experiences at Shanghai American School” “Examine sample Discovery Cards to unpack how to curate and celebrate work.
Participants will unpack a Discovery Card coaching cycle. Engage in dialogue with like-minded educators on professional development best practices.”

Scott Williams is an Instructional Coach at Shanghai American School. He had extensive experience teaching in international schools in Japan, India and China. He is passionate about technology, team building, and curriculum development. He is an expert in the work of Cognitive Coaching and Adaptive schools and how to empower educators to grow professionally.

Participants will learn metacognitive strategies that inspire student confidence and cultivate authentic voice. They will understand how technology can be integrated to make thinking visible.

Through a workshop based model, participants will experience sketchnoting, vlogging and gain an understanding of how visible thinking practices empower student voice and achievement. “Andrea Khambalia has been an International Educator for 14 years, having taught middle school language arts, social studies and humanities in Spain, Brazil and Bulgaria. She has also been involved in the performing arts, directing theatre productions and choreographing high school musicals.

Currently, Andrea is teaching 7th and 8th grade social studies at Saigon South International School. Inspired by students’ creativity, she designs learning experiences that incorporate design thinking, visual literacy and visible thinking routines. Andrea challenges her students to imagine, explore, problem-solve, discern and seek innovative solutions to issues of local and global significance providing an authentic audience.”

Project Based Learning can engage all students, but might seem a bit overwhelming to implement. Participants will learn how to get started with Project Based Learning ways that are manageable for both students and teachers new to PBL. Participants will examine sample project designs to learning essential components for design and brainstorm possible project ideas for classroom implementation.

Participants will engage in video analysis of sample projects, evaluate project “cards” using a checklist, and share questions at the beginning through a driving question to solicit participant questions or “need to knows.” While there may be direct instruction, participants will also engage in short pair or team discussions along the way. Participants will also create a project design idea.

Andrew Miller is an Instructional Coach at the Shanghai American School in China, coaching with an emphasis on Assessment, Project Based Learning, and Teacher Leadership. He also serves on the National Faculty for the Buck Institute for Education and ASCD.. He has worked with educators in the United States, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Japan, China, India, Mexico, Kuwait and the Dominican Republic. Andrew is an avid blogger and writer for a variety of organizations including ASCD and Edutopia.